Caterpillar 3208 SolutionsThis sub-forum is hosted by Mike Hohnstein who has been at this kind of thing for 50+ years now, guess I'm addicted. The saga has been all about progressively larger shop space since then. Honestly, never wanted to get into the CAT 3208's that were originally considered to be a throwaway engine but that's all that works in a FC in my world. Same thing with my Ford toter, that came with a NA, too much effort to hang in a 6, so been at it with the CAT V-8 for 20 years now. In reality you can get excellent life out of a CAT 3208 if it's built correctly.
Post your questions about the CAT 3208 engines here and Mike will try to help you out.

You're not burning it, you're blowing it out. The 300HP likes it just about 1/4" below the full mark. Try it and you may see a difference. That is what Pape suggested to me and it worked for me. Your oil stick is not standard to the 3208 so your reading may not be accurate.

You're not burning it, you're blowing it out. The 300HP likes it just about 1/4" below the full mark. Try it and you may see a difference. That is what Pape suggested to me and it worked for me. Your oil stick is not standard to the 3208 so your reading may not be accurate.

Yeah I don’t see it burning up mine stays right abound the quarter mark. I was just thinking of trying the CAT oil. It’s probably not to different from other oils but CAT says it’s made for the older engine 3208.

Kiki, the part number is 248-7518. Again, I'm not an expert on oil, or diesels for that matter. I only know what has worked in my bus, and what 2 old Cat mechanics have told me. My bus seems to like it better than the other stuff.

For those interested, this is a very good article on oils and why certain additives are beneficial for older engines. It's written for and by a Porsche guy, so some of the info is specific to certain Porsche models but still has more than enough information to make it worthwhile.

Finding the correct oil for our older Diesels can be a challenge. I did run across this oil, which looks like it may be a very good choice. It's only API CI-4 and API SL rated, so likely has a decent amount of ZDDP and the TBN of 10.5 looks good as well. I say “only” as higher (that is a letter higher in the alphabet, not necessarily higher quality) rated oils, by design, must have reduced ZDDP levels. Now, finding it may be an issue, a quick Google search didn't locate any. However, I do know a Liqui Moly importer, I could inquire although I'm sure he would need to know there is a market before placing an order. If anyone is interested, let me know.